Abstract

In the autumn of 2015, thousands of square kilometers of forest and peatlands in Indonesia went up in flames. Among the primary species emitted by fires, ammonia (NH₃) is of special relevance for air quality. Here we derive daily and total NH₃ emission fluxes over the affected area using satellite measurements for the years 2008-2015. The 2015 fires emitted an estimated 1.4-8.2 Tg of NH₃ (with a maximum of 0.06-0.33 Tg day⁻¹). On an annual basis, the 2015 NH₃ emissions are a factor 2-3 larger than in the previous seven years. We derive NH₃ emission factors for peat soils, which are found to be 2.5-8 times lower than those used in the GFASv1.2 emission inventory, but in excellent agreement with those reported in other recent studies. Finally, we estimate that 3.28×10⁹ m³ peat soil was consumed during these 2015 fires, corresponding to an average burn depth of 39 cm.

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